U.S. patent application number 13/534104 was filed with the patent office on 2013-06-20 for electrical connector.
This patent application is currently assigned to Molex Incorporated. The applicant listed for this patent is Patrick R. Casher, Kent E. Regnier. Invention is credited to Patrick R. Casher, Kent E. Regnier.
Application Number | 20130157512 13/534104 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41165437 |
Filed Date | 2013-06-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130157512 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Regnier; Kent E. ; et
al. |
June 20, 2013 |
ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR
Abstract
An I/O connector has a housing that contains a plurality of
individual terminal wafers containing terminal dedicated to either
ground signals or differential signals. The terminals are arranged
in widthwise order to define broadside coupled differential signal
terminal pairs. The ground terminals are wider than the signal
terminals to provide shielding to the differential signal pairs.
The body portions of the ground terminals can include notches that
provide for increased retention of the ground terminals in the
wafer and provide increased flow for molding material during the
formation of the wafers.
Inventors: |
Regnier; Kent E.; (Lombard,
IL) ; Casher; Patrick R.; (North Aurora, IL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Regnier; Kent E.
Casher; Patrick R. |
Lombard
North Aurora |
IL
IL |
US
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Molex Incorporated
Lisle
IL
|
Family ID: |
41165437 |
Appl. No.: |
13/534104 |
Filed: |
June 27, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13063008 |
May 9, 2011 |
8226441 |
|
|
PCT/US09/56318 |
Sep 9, 2009 |
|
|
|
13534104 |
|
|
|
|
61095450 |
Sep 9, 2008 |
|
|
|
61110748 |
Nov 3, 2008 |
|
|
|
61117470 |
Nov 24, 2008 |
|
|
|
61153579 |
Feb 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
61170956 |
Apr 20, 2009 |
|
|
|
61171066 |
Apr 20, 2009 |
|
|
|
61171037 |
Apr 20, 2009 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
439/626 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R 13/658 20130101;
H01R 13/6584 20130101; H01R 9/038 20130101; H01R 13/6594 20130101;
H01R 13/659 20130101; H01R 13/65918 20200801; H01R 13/46 20130101;
H01R 24/00 20130101; H01R 13/508 20130101; H01R 9/03 20130101; H01R
13/6658 20130101; H01R 13/6275 20130101; H01R 24/60 20130101; H01R
13/506 20130101; H01R 2107/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
439/626 |
International
Class: |
H01R 9/03 20060101
H01R009/03 |
Claims
1. A connector, comprising: a housing having a mating face and a
mounting face; a plurality of wafers disposed within the housing; a
plurality of ground and signal conductive terminals being supported
by the plurality of wafers, each of the terminals including a
contact portion disposed at one end, a tail portions disposed at an
opposite end thereof and a body portion interconnecting the contact
and tail portions together, each of the wafers defining a frame
that supports a respective set of terminals; and a first of the
plurality of wafers supporting a plurality of ground terminals and
a second of the plurality of wafers supporting a plurality of first
signal terminals and a third of the plurality of wafers supporting
a plurality of second signal terminals, the first and second signal
terminals having body portions having substantially a first width
and the ground terminals having a body portion with a second width
that is greater than the first width substantially the entire
length of the body portion of the ground terminal, the second and
third wafers being disposed adjacent each other such that the first
and second signal terminals face each other and are broadside
coupled together so as to carry differential signals thereacross,
wherein the first wafer is disposed adjacent the second wafer.
2. The connector of claim 1, wherein at least one of the ground
terminals in the first wafer includes at least one notch to
facilitate the over molding of the first wafer over the ground
terminals.
3. The connector of claim 1, wherein the second and third wafers
include channels disposed therein that extend widthwise through the
second and third wafers, thereby creating horizontal air pockets
within the wafers that separate differential signal pairs within
the second and third wafers.
4. An electrical connector, comprising: a housing including a
mating face and a mounting face, the mating face including two
slots, each of the slots configured to receive an edge of a circuit
card from an opposing, mating connector, the mounting face
configured for press fit termination to a circuit board; a
plurality of pairs of signal wafers positioned adjacent one another
in the housing, each of the signal wafers including a plurality of
conductive signal terminals supported thereby for position within
the respective edge-card receiving slot, each signal terminal
including a contact, a tail and a body with a first width extending
therebetween, each signal wafer including a mating edge having four
contacts extending therefrom proximate to the housing mating face,
the four contacts directed to opposite sides of the respective
slots, and each of the signal wafers further including a mounting
edge having a row of tails extending therefrom; a plurality of
ground wafers each including a plurality of conductive ground
terminals supported thereby, each ground terminal including a
contact, a tail and a body with a minimum width extending
therebetween, each ground wafer further including a mating edge
having four contacts extending therefrom proximate to the housing
mating face and on opposite sides of the slots, and a mounting edge
having a row of tails extending therefrom, one ground wafer being
associated with each pair of signal wafers, wherein first width is
less than the minimum width, some of the ground terminal body
portions having angled parts.
5. The connector of claim 4, wherein for each pair of adjacent
signal wafers, the signal terminals are aligned with each other in
a broadside fashion from the housing mating face to proximate the
housing mounting face.
6. The connector of claim 4, wherein at least one of the ground
terminals has no ground terminal notches.
Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. application Ser.
No. 13/063,008, filed May 9, 2011, now U.S. Patent No. TBD, which
in turn is a national phase of international application
PCT/US09/56318, filed Sep. 9, 2009 and claims priority to U.S.
Provisional Appln. No. 61/095,450, filed Sep. 9, 2008; to
application Ser. No. 61/110,748, filed Nov. 3, 2008; to application
Ser. No. 61/117,470, filed Nov. 24, 2008; to application Ser. No.
61/153,579, filed Feb. 18, 2009, to application Ser. No. 61/170,956
filed Apr. 20, 2009, to application Ser. No. 61/171,037, filed Apr.
20, 2009 and to application Ser. No. 61/171,066, filed Apr. 20,
2009, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their
entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention generally relates to connectors
suitable for transmitting data, more specifically to a compact
connector with improved impedance characteristics.
[0003] There is an ongoing effort in the telecommunications field
to increase performance, while reducing the size of connectors used
in the field. For input/output ("I/O") connectors used in data
communication, these efforts create somewhat of a problem. Using
higher frequencies (for increased data rates) requires reliable
electrical separation between signal terminals in a connector that
minimizes cross-talk. However, reducing the size of the connector
and making the terminal arrangement more dense, brings the
terminals closer together, which typically results in a decrease in
electrical separation.
[0004] There is also a desire to improve manufacturing. For
example, as signaling frequencies increase, the tolerance of
locations of terminals, as well as their physical characteristics
become more important in that they influence the operation of the
connector. Therefore, improvements to a connector design that would
facilitate manufacturing while still providing a dense,
high-performance connector are desired. Many I/O connector utilize
small signal and ground terminals held in terminal assemblies that
include insulative frames, such as wafers. In order to improve
electrical separation with differential signal terminal pairs in
small-size connectors, care must be taken to isolate such pairs
with ground terminals. It is difficult to inexpensively hold larger
ground terminals in place during manufacturing of the terminals and
ensure complete formation of the insert frames, or wafers.
Therefore, certain individuals would appreciate an improved
connector that provided allows for improved manufacturing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] A connector includes a hollow housing that includes a
plurality of wafers held together as a unit by a hollow housing.
Each wafer supports multiple terminals and contains terminals that
are either used as ground terminals or as signal terminals. The
terminals have contact portions at one end and tail portion at an
opposing end, and body portions that interconnect the contact and
tail portions together. The ground terminals may be configured in
dimensions so that it is wider than adjacent signal terminals. In
order to hold the wider ground terminals in place within the
wafers, and to improve manufacturability of the connector, the
ground terminals are notched in their body portions, particularly
those portions that extend at an angle within the wafers. These
notches extend inwardly, preferably in pairs, from opposing edges
of the ground terminal body portions and are offset from each other
with respect to adjacent ground terminals and the notches provide
increased areas of flow for the molding material from which the
wafers are made to pass.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] Throughout the course of the following detailed description,
reference will be made to the drawings in which like reference
numbers identify like parts and in which:
[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector constructed in
accordance with the principles of the present invention;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the connector of FIG. 1, taken
along lines 2-2 thereof;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the connector of FIG. 1, taken
along lines 3-3 thereof;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the connector of FIG. 1,
with the housing front portion removed to show the internal
terminal assemblies;
[0011] FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view of the connector of FIG.
1, taken along lines 5-5 thereof;
[0012] FIG. 6, is a perspective view of the connector of FIG. 1
shown on its side;
[0013] FIG. 7, is a diagrammatic view of an array of ground
terminals as contained within a ground terminal wafer, and with the
terminal supporting structure of the wafer removed for clarity;
[0014] FIG. 8. is a sectional view taken through a stack of
terminal assemblies of the connector of FIG. 1, showing an array of
signal terminals removed from their supporting wafer in position
adjacent a ground terminal wafer;
[0015] FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken through a ground terminal
assembly of the connector of FIG. 1; and,
[0016] FIG. 9A is an enlarged detail view of the angled body
portions of the ground terminals of the assembly of FIG. 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] As required, detailed embodiments of the disclosure are
disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the
disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary and may be embodied in
various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not
to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims
and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art
to variously employ the disclosure in virtually any appropriate
manner, including employing various features disclosed herein in
combinations that might not be explicitly disclosed herein.
[0018] FIG. 1 illustrates a connector 100. The connector 100 has a
housing 101 which is illustrated as having two interengaging first
and second (or front and rear) pieces, or parts, 102, 103. The
housing 101, as shown in FIG. 1 has a wide body portion 104 that
extends between a rear face 105 and the front face 106. A mating
portion 107 that takes the form of an elongated nose portion 108
projects forwardly of the front face 106 and terminates in a front
mating face 109. The mating face 109 may have one or more circuit
card-receiving slots 110 which are formed widthwise in the mating
face 109, with two such slots 110 being shown in FIG. 1.
[0019] As shown in FIGS. 2-3, the housing 101 has a hollow interior
portion 112 that receives a plurality of individual terminal
assemblies 114 that take the form of wafers 115. Each such wafer
115 contains a plurality of conductive terminals 116 supported by
an insulated material and each such terminal includes tail portions
117 projecting out from a first edge 118 and contact portions 119
projecting from a second edge 120 of the wafer 115. As illustrated,
the two edges 118, 120 are adjacent each other. The first edge 118
of the terminal assemblies 114 serves as a mounting edge, or face,
for the block of terminal assemblies shown in FIG. 4. The second
edge 120 which is offset from the first edge 118, serves as a
mating edge, or face, for the terminal assemblies 120. The
terminals 116 further include body portions 121 that interconnect
the tail and contact portions 117, 119 together. The terminal
assembly wafers 115 may have openings 123 formed therein in the
form of slots that extend along the terminal body portions 121 to
expose them to air and thereby affect the terminal impedance.
[0020] The wafers 115 are held together as a block within the
housing 101 in a manner such that the terminal tail portions 117
extend out through the bottom of the housing 101 and the terminal
contact portions 119 extend from the edges 120 of their wafers 115
into the housing nose portion 108. The terminal contact portions
119 are arranged in the wafers 115 as pairs of terminals and these
pairs are located on the upper and lower sides of the
card-receiving slots 110. (FIGS. 2 and 3.) As explained in greater
detail below, the terminals 116 of the connector are arranged in
distinct sets, within respective wafers, of ground terminals 116b
and signal terminals 116a, with one wafer containing only ground
terminals 116b and two wafers containing only signal terminals
116a. The two signal terminal-carrying wafers are arranged such
that they define pairs of signal terminals 116a which are broadside
coupled, so as to transmit differential signals through the
connector.
[0021] The terminals 116 are further provided as sets of thin
signal terminals 116a as shown in FIG. 2, and wide ground terminals
116b, as shown in FIG. 3. The terminals 116, as noted above,
project forwardly from the second edge 120 of the wafers 115 and
selected portions 124 of the wafers 115 extend past the second edge
120. The selected portions 124 are provided to hold the terminal
contact portions 119 in place within the forward nose portion and
to move the point "P" around which the terminal contact portions
deflect into the nose portion 108 of the housing 101, as shown in
FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 6, the terminal tail portions 117 of each
distinct set of wafers 115 are aligned laterally (widthwise) of the
connector 100. That is, all of the ground terminal tail portions
117b are arranged on respective widthwise lines such as "LG" in
FIG. 6. Likewise, the signal terminal tail portions 117a are also
arranged along their own respective coincident lines "LS"
[0022] As can be understood from the drawings, the contact portions
119 are cantilevered in their structure and act as contact beams
that deflect away from the slots 110 when a circuit card is
inserted therein. In order to accommodate this upward and downward
deflection of the contact portions 119, the nose portion 108 of the
housing 101 has terminal-receiving cavities 125 that extend from a
vertical preselected above and below centerlines of each slot 110.
Preferably, as will be explained more below, the ends of the
selected portions 124 run along a line "D" that is close to, or
most preferably, substantially coincident with the deflection
points "P". (FIG. 2.) The connector 100 may be enclosed in a
shielded, exterior housing, not shown, and as such, the height of
the connector is restricted, not only to a height that will fit
inside of an exterior housing, but also a height that accommodates
the two edge cards of an opposing, mating connector.
[0023] Returning to FIGS. 1-4, the housing 101 has its two pieces
102, 103 mate along an irregular mating line 126 that extends
upwardly through the sides of the housing 101 along a path that
extends from front to rear of the housing 101. This irregular
mating line facilitates the molding of the housings and it is
explained in greater detail in U.S. Provisional Patent Application
No. 61/122,102, filed Dec. 12, 2008 for "Two-Piece Thin Wall
Housing." The two housing parts 102, 103 interlock together or
engage with each other along this irregular and non-linear mating
line 126. With this irregular configuration, a pair of rails 128,
and channels 129 are defined in the two housing pieces 102, 103
with the rails 128 fitting into the channels 129. Outer ribs 131
may also be formed on the exterior side surfaces of the rear
housing part 103 and these ribs 131 are preferably horizontally
aligned with the rails 128 to provide reinforcement to the rails
128, but also to provide a means for positioning the connector
subassembly 100 within an exterior housing or shroud.
[0024] FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view of the connector 100. The
hollow interior is configured to provide different slots for the
different wafers. While not required, this helps eliminate the
incorrect assembly of the connector and also permits the different
types of wafers to be located and inserted as groups of ground
terminal wafers, left signal terminal wafers and right signal
terminal wafers. These wafers may also be respectively referred to
as first, second and third wafers. As noted above, the signal
terminals face each other and are broadside coupled. In order to
accomplish such coupling, three different types of wafers are
utilized in the connector 100.
[0025] As shown in FIG. 5, the wafer at the leftmost edge of the
interior of the housing 101 is a first wafer 115a, and next to it
is a second wafer 115b. This wafer 115b is referred to as a "left"
terminal wafer in that its terminals will make up the left side of
the differential signal terminal pairs. Next in line is inserted a
third wafer 115c, which can be referred to as a right terminal
wafer as the terminals make up the right sides of the differential
signal terminal pairs. Lastly, this pattern of three repeats itself
again, starting with the first wafer 115a. In this manner, the
connector will house a plurality of differential signal terminal
pairs in the widthwise direction. In the embodiment illustrated,
the broadside coupled differential signal terminal pairs are
arranged in four rows of terminals, 140a, 140b, 140c and 140d. The
differential signal terminal pairs in rows 140a and 140c engage
contacts disposed on the upper surfaces of two edge, or paddle,
cards of an opposing, mating connector (not shown), while the
differential signal terminal pairs in rows 140b and 140d engage
contacts disposed on the lower surfaces of the two edges cards.
[0026] Each of these three types of wafers are polarized, or keyed
by virtue of their individual configurations. The ground terminal
assembly wafers 115a are taller than either of the two signal
terminal wafers 115b, 115c and hence can only be inserted into the
slots 169a disposed in the front half, 102 of the housing 101, that
are designated for ground terminal assembly wafers. Likewise, the
left signal terminal assembly wafer 115b is specially configured
with a step, or recess 168b, as illustrated to fit only in a slot
which is designated to receive it, namely slot 169b, as is the
right signal terminal assembly wafer 115c is only received in slots
169c because it has a step, or recess 168c that faces the step 168b
of the adjacent signal wafer 115b.
[0027] Theses steps 168b, c that are formed in the signal terminal
assembly wafers 115b, 115c engage dovetailed members 170 of the
housing 101 that project into the hollow interior 112 of the
housing 101. Other means of polarizing, or keying, the wafers 115
may be utilized, such as varying the height of the wafers 115 and
the slots 169. In this manner, each distinct set of terminal
assembly wafers may be loaded into the housing 101 as a group to
facilitate assembly. One aspect that can be appreciated is that the
three-wafer system can be stitched into the housing interior 112
without first combining two or more of the wafers 115 together.
This has the benefit of providing a convenient manufacturing
process. Importantly, due to the difference of heights and or
steps, the proper wafers can only be inserted into their respective
proper housing slots, lending the housing capable of being
assembled by low-cost, unskilled labor.
[0028] FIG. 7 illustrates a ground terminal assembly 7000 that has
been removed from its supporting ground wafer 115a, that may be
used in the connectors of the present invention in which the ground
terminals 116b are significantly larger than their corresponding
signal terminals 116a. This difference is size occurs primarily in
the width dimension of the ground terminals and FIG. 8 illustrates
the size difference between two ground and signal terminals, in
which two such signal terminal assemblies 8000 are shown, but also
removed from their respective supporting wafers 115a, 115b. The
signal terminals 116a of this assembly 8000 are illustrated in
broadside alignment with a set of adjacent ground terminals 116b.
The signal terminals have contact portions 743 that will engage the
opposing surfaces of edge cards 89 of an opposing, mating connector
88, tail portions 744 that fit into vias or other openings in a
circuit board and body portions 8012 that connect the contact and
tail portions together.
[0029] Four ground terminals 721a-d are illustrated in FIG. 7, and
each ground terminal can be seen to have contact portions 723 at
one end and tail portions 722 at opposing ends. The contact
portions 723 and tail portions 722 are joined by intervening body
portions 725 that extend therebetween. As shown, each of the ground
terminal body portions includes a vertical component 725' extending
to the tail portion 722 and a horizontal component 725'' extending
to the contact portion 723. Three of the terminals shown further
include an angled component 7210 and the remaining terminal, 721d,
the one that is nearest to the intersection of the housing mating
face and mounting face, has no such angled component.
[0030] In another embodiment, manufacturability of the connectors
of the invention is further increased by the configuration of the
ground terminals 116b. As shown best in FIGS. 7 and 8, some of the
ground terminals 721a-c of each ground terminal wafer are provided
with notches 726 that are formed in the edges of the ground
terminal body portions 121b. These notches 726 are provided in sets
of pairs of notches, with each notch 726 of each pair extending
inwardly of the ground terminal from the opposing outer edges 725a
of the terminal body portions. Preferably, the pairs of notches 726
are formed in the angled components 7210 of the terminal body
portions 725, and not in either of the vertical or horizontal
components 725', 725''.
[0031] As shown in the Figures, the notches 726 of each pair of
notches are aligned with each other so that their inner edges 726a
confront each other. The notches 726 are formed in the terminal
body portion angled components, where the ground terminal body
portions are the widest. These notches 726 provide improved
retention of the ground terminals 116b within each such ground
terminal assembly wafer 115a. The notches 726 also facilitate the
molding of the ground terminal assembly wafers 115a by providing
additional, interconnected flowpaths for the molding material to
traverse during the molding of the wafer 115a over the wide ground
terminals 116b. In this regard, and as shown, the notches 726 of
the ground terminals 116b are offset from any of the notches in any
adjacent ground terminals. As shown in FIG. 9A, the topmost pairs
of notch 726 which are disposed in the first (topmost) ground
terminal 721a is aligned with only the pair of notches 726 in the
notches in the third ground terminal 721c (i.e., one removed from
the first ground terminal 721a). This alignment may occur along the
line "LGT" of FIG. 9A. This line may be considered to bisect the
inner edges 726a of each pair of notches 726 and it preferably
extends perpendicular to these inner edges 726a. This type of
alignment is preferred because the notches provide areas of
strength where the molding material from which the ground terminal
wafer is made extend from one side of the wafer to the other
through the plane of the ground terminal body portion notches.
[0032] As shown in FIG. 8, three 721a-c of the four ground
terminals 116b of each ground terminal assembly wafer 115b has at
least one pair of notches 726, but the lowermost ground terminal
721d, which has no significant body portion angled component 7210
has no of notches. This lowermost (fourth) ground terminal 721d is
the terminal that is nearest the intersection of the housing mating
and mounting faces.
[0033] The ground terminals as shown in FIG. 8 also have a narrow
horizontal length where the ground terminals are reduced in their
width, but still are wider than either of the two signal terminals
adjacent one side of the ground terminal. This reduces the overall
height of the terminal assembly, while the reduced horizontal
length reduces the crosstalk over the length of the terminals as
they approach the contact portions the ground terminals are wider
than their corresponding and adjacent signal terminals.
[0034] It will be understood that there are numerous modifications
of the illustrated embodiments described above which will be
readily apparent to one skilled in the art, such as many variations
and modifications of the compression connector assembly and/or its
components including combinations of features disclosed herein that
are individually disclosed or claimed herein, explicitly including
additional combinations of such features, or alternatively other
types of contact array connectors. Also, there are many possible
variations in the materials and configurations. These modifications
and/or combinations fall within the art to which this invention
relates and are intended to be within the scope of the claims,
which follow. It is noted, as is conventional, the use of a
singular element in a claim is intended to cover one or more of
such an element.
* * * * *